The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-01-14
FACTS ABOUT THE WORKERS.
Commissioner Peck Finds that a Major
ity of Skilled Men Are Foreigners.
A Protest Against Henry Georges Attack on
the Roman Church-Fears that the Coal
Handlers Strike Will Result in Riot.

Handlers Strike Will Result in Riot.
ALBANY, N. T., Jan. 13-The fourth annual
report OF the Bureau OF Statistics and Labor
was submitted to the Legislature, last evening,
and will make volume of 500 or more pages.
In his Introductory remarks Commissioner Peck
says:
THE year 1886 has witnessed more profound
and far more extended agitation amona the
members of organized labor than any previous
year in the history of our country, and while
sucn agitation in our own State has not been
characterized by the wholly unwarranted and
criminal excuses that startled with horror the
popuiace of several of our Western cities, it has
nevertheless been earnest and pronounced With
put rare exceptions, organized labor has contin-
ued in this State with greater success than ever
before, to agitate to strike and to boycott dur
ing the past year. and 1856 will be remembered
as one of the greatest Importance in the battle
waged between capital and labor, the signal fail
ures and successes Of which will not be lost or
fail to serve lessons of value to the student of
social and economic questions"
The subject of apprenticeship is treated at
great length and in most exhaustive manner.
Among other things the Commissioner says, in
discussing the question:
AS very prominent feature of the labor
question. it has been found expedient and neces-
means at hand of renewing and perpetuating
our labor supply. The broad result is that we
are largely dependent upon foreign skill and
labor Our supply of native mechanics is daily
augmented by the skilled labor of Europe, and
while this foreign element is not equal to the
skilled labor which is retained in Europe, it is,
In the main. vastly superior to that produced in
our own country. Whether unrestricted imm-
grafton be or be not national blessing, may be
disputed but visit to the workshops of the
State will demonstrate the truthfulness of the
statement that the large majority Of our trades
men and mechanics are foreigners Indeed, in
many trades and industrial establishments there
is not single American at work Nearly all
positions of trust and responsibility in the me-
chanical departments are in the hands of foreign
born workers. and most Of the boys and young
men learning trades either foreign-born or
the sons of foreign-born workers And the
opinion is now very generally expressed and ac-
cepted. that most of the labor troubles of the
last few years have been precipitated not by
whole trades, but by sections of them, and that
these sections were largely controlled by for
eigners or natives who had, from association,
imbbed foreign ideas on the labor question"
The Commissioner then discusses the Amer
lean objections to apprenticing boys, and the
consequent failure of American labor to prevent
| such state Of affairs as Is mentioned above.
| He argues in favor of manual training as q
| means of keeping up the supply of trained
labor, and preventing the coming man from be
coming the slave of the machine. The conclu
| sions at which the Commissioner arrives 10 re-
| gard to shorter hours of labor are thus summed
| up
"As predicted in the last report of this bu
reau, a very general movement was made on ths
| first day OF Ma last. looking to the reduction OF
| the hours Of labor from ten to eight per day
| The organizations of New York and Brooklyn
| seemed to have acted more in concert than those
| q citieS in Ia ~ fa
more successful, having won a majority of the
| cases where demands were made. 1t Is true
| that while q large percentage of all engaged in
| the movement asked for reduction of two
hours day, very many of the organization,
| did it with q view Of compromising on nine
| hours as a days work."
He next gives the histories of the leading
strikes in the State during the year. nobably
those in the Troy laundries. the sugar refnerie.
and on the street railroads. The losses by these
different strikes, boycotts etc. he is unable tt
! give in total but ffty-eight firms alone repor
an aggregate Of So, 600. 600. On the other hand
the losses of wages to striking employees are re
ported represented by the sum of So, s58, 1911
This amount carries the conviction that labo
deserves to succeed in cause for which it i
willing to make such sacrifice. The report con
| tinues:
| VueH the question OF strikes anC KlQOreQ Ia
Dor troubles is analysed in calm and dispas
sionats spirit, it will be discovered that there i
| great deal of error in the public mind regard
ing it Employers. as a rule, assert that strik
| ing is not. under any circumstances, justifable
contending that wages would ultimately and in
evirably increase without them. Indeed. the,
manifest desire to ignore the subject alto
gether, and only give it attention when they ar
compelled From the trades unonsts' stand
point, however, there is ample justification 70
this weapon, though they are reluctant to as
it, and the organizations grow older the,
only resort to it when they have been ignored
and compelled to use it in self-defense"
The closing portion of the report is devoted t
a consideration of the Saturday haf-holida
movement, the success attending the agitatio
of the subject and the benefits derived from il
Henry Georges Defense of McGlynn.
NEW YORK. Jan. 13-The article by Henri
George on tn. McGlynn case, which was pull
llshed in the frat issue of his paper, seen
likely to cause some trouble in the labor rank
In the next Issue of John Swinton's paper wi